BROOKER v WBA

[Red Rover]

Anyone else who went to the WBA game tonight think Brooker struggled and looked quite a bit off the pass?  :dry:  Suppose its gonna happen after 2 years out nearly. The rest of the players looked pretty sharp to be fair.  

[VikingJames]

Give him a break. He's hardly played any football for 2 years. I think he'll come good if we can keep him fit.

[Red Rover]

VikingJames wrote:

Give him a break. He's hardly played any football for 2 years. I think he'll come good if we can keep him fit.

I'm not having a go at him, I just feel that at the moment he isn't a strong enuf partner/replacement for Sharp. He has obviously been out of the game for a while and hopefully will get stronger with every reserve game

[VikingJames]

What do we need to replace Sharp for?

[BobG]

We don't play reserve games Red.

BobG

[Red Rover]

BobG wrote:

We don't play reserve games Red.

BobG

Well he's fukd then!    Can't afford to give him run outs in the Championship with touches like that tonight bless him

[Branton Rover]

Correct he's only lacking match sharpness & you only get that by playing he was clearly only 75% committed tonight trying his utmost to stay clear of trouble.  Personally I was delighted to see him out there &~ hopefully he came through unscathed.

[Superspy]

personally i think he just needs to practice his first touch, his agility and decision making was fine (imo of course), and i try not to read into players pulling out of 50/50s in friendly matches...they just arent worth getting injured for. we all love commitment from our players, we just love it even more when it means something

personally im dreading sharp breaking his leg against wednesday

[DMnumber4]

It's an achievement for him to be able to play again ffs. I'm sure some players would have packed in after the aggro he's had.

He has a point to prove, mainly to the fans, that he can do it.

A small but significant step on one hell of a recovery journey for the big fella.

P.S - anyone else notice him constantly adjusting something on his chest?

[VikingJames]

DMnumber4 wrote:

It's an achievement for him to be able to play again ffs. I'm sure some players would have packed in after the aggro he's had.

He has a point to prove, mainly to the fans, that he can do it.

A small but significant step on one hell of a recovery journey for the big fella.

P.S - anyone else notice him constantly adjusting something on his chest?

I noticed that too, and thought nothing of it.

Maybe he had some sort of machine under his shirt to monitor how he coped with the fitness side of the game?

[coventryrover]

Probably a heart rate monitor

[DearneValleyRover]

Considering that the lad only started kicking a ball last week after nearly 2 years I'm not surprised that his first touch was a little rusty.

[DRNaith]

I thought that he did well.

You could see how WBA's defense had to click into a different mentality and style of play in order to deal with him.

Could be good for unlocking a defense in the final 15 mins that has been run ragged by Sharp for the previous 75!

[keyser_soze]

coventryrover wrote:

Probably a heart rate monitor

Yep. The players have always worn heart-rate monitors throughout pre-season games since O'Driscoll arrived.

[Superspy]

DearneValleyRover wrote:

Considering that the lad only started kicking a ball last week after nearly 2 years I'm not surprised that his first touch was a little rusty.

absolutely, im not surprised either. it wasnt a criticism, just an observation.

[hoolahoop]

I thought Brooker did fine, he's just running behind the pace a bit and a few more matches will sharpen him up.
Nigh on 2 years out what do people expect, he will be key to us next season and a frighteningly awkward proposition to oppo defences when he's at 90%+. We should have plenty up front now and 'nursing' him on like we have is the right strategy and should supply us with a great strike force and a very strong 'impact' player.
Just pleased to see him play again mesen.....

[DonnyBazR0ver]

You could see how WBA's defense had to click into a different mentality and style of play in order to deal with him.

That's what he can do. The game at Watford turned when he came on. Centre halfs looking at each other and saying 'You take him !'

[RoversDave]

For those of you who don't know Steve Brooker



 [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywUAfzxuiCY[/video]